Advances in the figure skating and other sports have been achieved through improved coaching techniques, better equipment, sports medicine and nutrition. In figure skating, primary emphasis is now placed on the use of training techniques and fixed equipment intended to reinforce the skater's proper upper and lower body position, and the use of the skater's muscle memory. To date, skaters have relied on the ability of a coach to observe their movements and effectively communicate (typically verbally) suggestions for improvement. This after-the-fact feedback from a coach requires frequent and intensive time with the coach. Also, training harnesses have been used to a certain extent.
A variety of exercising devices are known to involve couplings between the hands and feet of users. Examples are seen in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,160,722 (Cunningham); U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,474 (Macabet, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,827 (Weider); U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,916 (Bobich); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,113 (Bobich). The exercise device in the '113 patent features clips for convenient attachment to laced athletic shoes of the user. Other devices featuring loops or handles at the opposite ends of an elastic cord or other elongate member, include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,721 (Cronauer); U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,852 (Gury); U.S. Pat. No. 263,613 (Henry); U.S. Pat. No. 368,501 (Woodruff); and U.S. Pat. No. 396,077 (Heine).
The devices described in the foregoing patents typically use resistance cords to strengthen muscles and provide aerobic workouts. The resistance of the cord is a substitute for a physical weight. Although these patents do not specify the tensile strength of their cords, the purpose of muscle strengthening typically requires cord sizes (particularly diameters) greater than ½ inch (12.7 mm), increasing with the desired amount of resistance. The sizes of end members such as handles and wrist straps in these devices are consistent with a relatively high tensile force in the cord or other resilient member.
Other patents show the use of a resilient cord said to teach muscle memory and influence the position of an athlete toward a desired correct position. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,608 (Dougherty et al.) discloses an athletic movement trainer including a belt and ankle straps that hold a resilient, bungee-type cord in place to add resistance for the lower body and leg muscle groups. The Dougherty device is directed to maintaining a bent-knee position with the feet firmly in place on a playing surface (e.g. for tennis). The cord is connected to the waist through a ring, and is then stretched down the back of the legs to the ankle straps. The cord is slack while the user maintains the correct position, but becomes tensioned when the user deviates from that position. The device is connected to both legs, and is confined to lower body training needs. Dougherty does not mention gliding sports such as figure skating, or stretching and twisting sports such as figure skating, dance, gymnastics, or diving.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,221 (Marco) is directed to a device intended to encourage a bent-knee position for gliding sports, such as skating. This device includes a belt and clips to mount bungee-type cords to the belt clips. Similar clips mount the cords to skates or other footwear. The Marco device places the cords in front of the athlete. The bungee-type cord is functionally focused on the lower body, and would interfere with movements and positions used in most figure skating maneuvers such as single foot-straight leg glides, jumps or spins.
Although the foregoing devices may be well suited for their respective purposes, they either involve the high levels of tensile resistance associated with muscular exercise and stress; or, as in the case of Dougherty and Marco, they use cord tension to discourage deviation from a desired position associated with a slack cord. Thus, they fail to provide an alignment or placement of a properly tensioned resilient cord in a manner that affords a high degree of freedom of movement while reinforcing and teaching proper positioning in the performance of jumps, spins, single foot-straight leg glides, and other movements intended to exhibit grace and style.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a training device for reinforcing correct relative positioning of the extremities during maneuvers that emphasize grace and style, and accordingly require considerable freedom of movement.
Another object is to provide an athletic training device that can be attached quickly and conveniently to or close to a user's hand and foot, and that is simple and easy to use in practicing a wide variety of athletic maneuvers involving glides, jumps, twists, or spins.
A further object is to provide a process for practicing athletic maneuvers that affords freedom of movement yet gives the user immediate feedback and encouragement toward correct relative positioning of the extremities for each maneuver being practiced.
Yet another object is to provide a training device that incorporates an elastically extensible component adapted to exert a substantially uniform, low-level tensile force over multiple repetitions of a given maneuver.